
GÉRARD DE NERVAL.
SYLVIE ET AURÉLIE. - IN MEMORY OF GÉRARD DE NERVAL.
GÉRARD DE NERVAL.
I. A WASTED NIGHT.
II. ADRIENNE.
III. RESOLVE.
IV. A VOYAGE TO CYTHERA.
V. THE VILLAGE.
VI. OTHYS.
VII. CHAÂLIS.
A young poet drifts between the bustling streets of Paris and the quiet fields of the Valois countryside, chasing a fleeting vision of an ideal love. He meets Sylvie, a lively peasant girl whose laughter and song seem to capture the very essence of spring, and he becomes enchanted by her simple, unguarded beauty. Their early encounters are painted with the glow of moonlit evenings, whispered ballads, and the scent of fresh wheat, creating a world where reality and dream intertwine.
Yet the narrator cannot escape the pull of his own restless heart, torn between the pastoral innocence of Sylvie and the sophisticated allure of city life. As he moves between these two realms, he grapples with memories that feel both vivid and elusive, questioning whether true happiness can ever be captured in a single moment. The story unfolds as a tender meditation on longing, the passage of time, and the way love can both illuminate and haunt the soul.
Language
en
Duration
~1 hours (96K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Credits
Produced by Marc D'Hooghe (From images generously made available by the Hathi Trust)
Release date
2012-08-13
Rights
Public domain in the USA.

1808–1855
A dreamy, haunted voice of French Romanticism, he helped open French literature to German Romantic writers and later inspired Symbolists and Surrealists. His most admired works blend memory, travel, myth, and fragile inner experience in a way that still feels strikingly modern.
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